A copartnership



A. A. CRiSELL.

AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTABLE BRACE FOR SILOS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1915.

1,1 93,767. PatentedAug. 8,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I I HHHH! m: g Swuawtom A. A. CRISELL.

AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTABLE BRACE FOR SILOS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25.19l5.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 WJfiZZ & 1 m w E Rm MW 1 M 1 6 W7? 4 attozmqo ALLEN A. CRISELL, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR TO MONROE AND CRISELL, OF PORTLAND OREGON, A COPARTNER SHIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

Application filed March 25, 1915. Serial No. 16,913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN A. CRISELL, acitizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatically- Adjustable Braces for Silos; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in silos and more particularly to a bracing device for holding the top of asilo having outside hoops in a true circle.

The object of the invention is to provide a brace of this character for use in connection with wooden stave silos of any style having hoops around the outside thereof for holding the silo together and which is so constructed and connected that when the outside hoops are loosened or tightenedas needed, the brace will automatically operate to reduce or enlarge the circle or the outer wall of the silo as required and at the same time retain it in a perfect circle at all times without any adjustment being made except on the outside hoops. I

Another object is to provide a device of this character which is inexpensive to manufacture and install and which may be readily applied to silos already made or to those being constructed. V

l/Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, and the combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the upper portion of a silo constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a central vertical section thereof; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4: is an enlarged detail plan view of the brace controlling plate, the braces being shown connected therewith and broken off; Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and Fig. .6 is a horiroof 3 mounted thereon and which is here shown inverted cone-shaped and is adjustably connected with said wall by slotted connecting plates 4 so that the wall may expand and contract without in any way interfering with or changing the configuration of the roof.

The improved brace contemplated by the present invention comprises a plurality of brace rods 5, six being here shown which are threaded at their outer ends and extend transversely through the staves 1 and are provided with nuts 6 and 7 disposed on opposite faces of said staves for holding said brace rods in adjusted position relatively thereto. These brace rods 5 extend transversely of the silo and are connected at their inner end by an expansion and contraction compensating member in the form of a plate or wheel 8 here shown circular, said ends being connected to the plate in a circle concentric with the axis thereof, as shown in Fig. 3 and are provided with laterally extending downturned terminals 9 which pass through apertures in the plate 8 and are provided with fastening nuts 10, said terminals being threaded to receive said nuts whereby the rods are held in operative position relative to said plate 8. These rods are arranged in planes tangential to the circle in which they are pivoted. This plate 8, is bolted to the lower end of a jack shaft 11 which depends from the center of the roof 3 and is connected thereto in any suitable manner, braces 12 being here shown connecting the lower end thereof and the upper end being passed through the apex of the roof. This plate 8 as shown is reliably bolted to the lower end of the shaft 11, but suflicient play is allowed to provide for the free turning of said plate relatively to said shaft so that when the hoop 2 which encircles the 5110 ad j acent the points of connection of the brace rods therewith is either tightened or loosened, said plate 8 will be turned in one direction or the other according to the expansion or contraction of the hoop, and thereby automatically adjust the brace rods for holding the hoop 2 and the silo Wall 1 encircled thereby in a true circle at all times which is an important feature in structures of this character.

From the above description it will be obvious that owing to the tangential connection of the brace rods 5 in relation to the circle in which they are connected to the wheel or plate 8, that the tightening or loosening of the hoop 2 will cause the plate 8 to automatically turn and thus reduce or enlarge the circle of the outer wall of the silo as required according to Whether the hoop is tightened or loosened, and thus retain said wall in a perfect circle at all times Without any manipulation other than the adjustment of the outside hoop adjacent which this brace is connected.

It is important that a silo be kept in a true circle to prevent bulging of the walls thereof or other defects such as would let in air and thus destroy the silage, and this improved brace accomplishes this function perfectly.

While I have shown and described my invention as embodied in a silo, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to this one use since the invention is capable of being effectively used in brewing vats, Watering tanks and various analogous structures.

I claim'as my invention:

1. The combination of a cylindrical wall, a circumferentially expansible and contraetible hoop surrounding said Wall, and brace members connected at one end to said wall and with their other ends extending into the space inclosed by said wall and converging toward the center thereof, and means connecting said ends whereby they are adjustable automatically on the expansion and contraction of the hoop to hold said wall in a true circle at all times.

2. The combination of a cylindrical Wall, a circumferentially expansible and contractible hoop surrounding said wall, brace members connected at one end to said wall, and means eccentrically connecting the other ends of said braces so as to automatically turn to reduce or enlarge said wall and retain it in'the form of a perfect circle on the expansion or contraction of said hoop.

3. The combination'of a cylindrical wall, a circumferentially expansible and contractible hoop surrounding said wall, brace members connected at one end to said wall, and amember disposed at the axial line of said circular wall, the inner ends of said rounding said wall, rods connected with said wall and extending inwardly toward the center of the space inclosed by said wall, and a member eccentrically connecting the inner ends of said rods at the axial line of said wall.

5. The combination of a cylindrical wall made up of interlockingly connected staves, an expansible and contractible hoop surrounding said wall, rods adjustably connected with said wall at intervals around the circumference thereof and extending toward the center of the space inclosed by said wall, and a member eccentrically connecting the inner ends of said rods.

6. The combination of a cylindrical wall made up of staves, an expansible and contractible hoop extending circumferentially around said staves, a plate disposed in the axlal line of said cylindrical wall, a plurality of rods having one end extending through said wall and secured thereto,'said rods being arranged at intervals around the circumference of said wall, the inner ends of said rods being loosely connected with said plate and eccentrically relatively to the axis thereof, a standard depending into the space inclosed by said wall on the lower end of which said plate is pivotally mounted, and supporting means for said standard.

7. The combination of a cylindrical wall made up of staves, an expansible and contractible hoop extending circumferentially around said staves, a plate disposed in the axial line of said cylindrical wall, a plurality of rods having one end extending through said wall and secured thereto, said rods being arranged at intervals around the circumference of said Wall, the inner ends of said rods being loosely connected with said plate and eccentrically relatively to the axis thereof, an inverted cone-shaped roof detachably connected with the upper end of said wall, and a jack shaft depending from the apex of said roof with its lower end disposed in horizontal alinement with the inner ends of said rods, said plate being centrally pivoted to said lower standard end.

8. The combination of a cylindrical wall made up of staves, an expansible and contractible hoop extending circumferentially an expansion and contraction compensating 19 member connecting said brace members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

ALLEN A. CRISELL. Y Witnesses:

HERBERT S. MoCUTcHAN, GERTRUDE EVANS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

